Share This Story

Sisters Meg and Steph discovered that while living the life of poor, newlywed, college students, with fresh little babies in the middle of The Great Recession they could still have what they needed and wanted if they got to work and created things with their own hands. This mindset has saved them thousands of dollars in living expenses, and as they share their knowledge with others, the savings keeps growing.

Your quilt is amazing. I have just made my first one with squares but I love the idea of strips of fabric. Flannel seems to be quite hard to get here in the UK but I am constantly on the lookout for it. Thanks for the inspiration. Jane, Norfolk, UK (aka Craft Hippy!) x

Just stumbled upon your blog via Pinterest. Love this sweet quilt. I don't really sew much....you think a novice could pull this off (I have a machine and the extent of my skills are bibs and burp cloths!)

Love this! I have always wanted to make a quilt but trying to quilt huge layers together scares me. :) This seems like the perfect starter blanket! I had better start making one for my son's birthday this month!!

I absolutely love this quilt. I found your blog also through pinterest! I just had a question. I notice you say to basically have 7 small and 7 large but on your picture when its laid out there are only 6 and 6. Can you explain why? Did it just not look good? I am just asking because it would be my first time making a rag quilt. Thank you so much!

@ Emily.. ok so when I laid out the quilt I actually just left out one of the stripes by accident... the finished quilt has all 7 strips. It was a little difficult finding the perfect pattern that I loved but with a little time and effort all 7 strips work out wonderfully!

This is really cute. Do you think that a cotton fabric would work as well as the flannel? I would also like to make the quilt a little larger to put on the end of my bed as a throw. Should I make it wider and longer? Thank you for such a great idea.

Hi all.. to answer some questions about the rag quilt... I would suggest not using cotton fabric. It has the tendency to fray terribly and you will find strings everywhere for a long time if it is used to make a rag quilt. I found this out the hard way a while back. As far as the dimensions of my quilt it turned out being 41"x47". Hope this helps :) I think I will post a little blurb to follow up with questions a little later.

you say to sew the strips together using the "right" sides of the fabric (I'm new to sewing, well this will be my first project, lol) which side is the "right" side since you are using the same fabric for front and back? Will one side be flat and the other side fringed?

I came across your quilt on Pinterest and I love it! I have been searching for quite a while for a rag quilt pattern that is simple and well written and you nailed it! Thanks so much for sharing this pattern. I'm starting my quilt today and will send you a link when it done so you can see how it turned out. AJ

Hi! I found you on pinterest and i adore this quilt! I'd like to make it for a friend....but i'm having trouble visualizing how you attached the strips together. Is just one side of the quilt "raggy?" In other words, do you have the "inside out seams" on one side of the quilt, snipped, and the other side is smooth? Or have you somehow connected the strips so that both sides of the quilt will need to be snipped and "raggy?" thanks in advance for your answer! :)

I've been making these strippy rag quilts for years! I love them - and people love them as gifts! I never could get into the time it would take to make a block square one. I've always done the strips the same width, but I LOVE the different width fabric strips.

I love this quilt like so many others.I was just wondering if it might work with a fleece fabric as the batting for warmth with flannel or soft cotton on the outside for comfort. You have inspired so many people - even me! I never usually "get around" to doing pretty things, just the practical ones, but I feel i might attempt this one. Thank you.Jen, Hertford, UK

@Natalie and Jen, I think Fleece would work well. I have tried cotton with a rag quilt, and it didn't work the way I wanted, but many have said that they like how cotton fabric turns out. Good luck and happy quilting!

Just saw your rag quilt on Pinterest and love it. I have made them with blocks, but I love the strips. Makes it so much quicker and simpler. I also, have used batting to fill mine, and the use of another piece of flannel is great...then it's not so thick! Anyways, just wanted to drop by and say thank you for sharing!

@Kaite - I got the fabric from a little quilting shop in the town I live in called the Cotton Shop. I know, isn't it awesome fabric!

@Mandy - This quilt is really like any other baby blanket that my little girl has. The "raggy" part is very very small on the quilt I made and only adds a little texture. It seems very safe. Thanks for the sweet compliment!

I'm not quite understanding how to do the back. Do you include the back seam into the seam allowance on the snipped side? I'm probably not explaining myself well. This is the first quilt I am attempting to make and want to get it right!

I seen this on UCreate and made it right away for my youngest daughter. I posted about it here.http://laraandgillian.blogspot.com/2011/10/elenas-blankie.htmlI loved your tutorial, and my other two kids are now hounding me to make them one :) Thanks for giving me the perfect blanket to try for my first one :)

Just curious, what's the finished size? Think I might want to make a larger one someday. Very nice, thanks for sharing it. I've made one block type rag quilt for a sick friend, they are so soft and cuddly. I love the strips, much faster and shows off the fabric too. Thanks!!!! Kathi S.

Thanks for the tutorial! I just made one for a baby shower I'm going to. It made up so quickly and has such a nice weight to it. I'm planning on making two more for my daughters with matching PJs for Christmas!

this is so pretty! i've been thinking about trying to make a quilt. i have a sewing machine but don't really know how to sew. this looks like it might be simple enough for me to try! it's so pretty! thanks for sharing!

Can't wait to make this for my granddaughter!! I would recommend that you post @ the top of your instructions NOT to prewash the fabric, also to run a line of stitching around the edges & snip there is SO much easier & quicker. Thank you so MUCH for posting!! I LOVE it.

If you were to overlap the fabrics an inch instead of putting them "right sides together" and stitched in the middle of the overlap, wouldn't you have seams on both sides that could be snipped to make the "rag"?

Fabulous tutorial, I have been looking for one for some flannel breast cancer fabric I picked up for a friend battling this disease right now. I will be using your tutorial to make my lap quilt. Thanks so much!!

The quilt is BEAUTIFUL!!!!! thanks you so much for sharing and getting the creative juices flowing again LOL! if I wanted to make this for an adult do you have a suggested cut length and how many extra stripes do you think would work? Excellent Christmas idea THANK YOU!!!!

I love this blanket but I'm a little confused since I'm still a newbie when it comes to sewing. You said to sew the "right sides" together, does this mean that one side of the blanket has the snippy things and the other side looks like a well put together- non-raggy blanket?

This also had me totally baffled, because after you stitch down the center of the 3 layers....BOTH sides are the RIGHT sides! You sew the strips together back to back so one side has all of the "edges" and the back of it....no fringe, just smooth (you can see the seams). Sorry if this isn't clear. I struggled with the description as well.

I just finished one of these. Broke a needle on my machine doing it. LOL. Cut the strips a little smaller than what it says here. I sewed the binding on with the machine. I think I will hand bind next time to prevent breaking more needles. Also, the middle piece of flannel isn't really needed.

Ok to answer a few questions... 1. The dimensions of my quilt turned out being 41"x47".2. The width of the fabric was the normal 45"3. Fleece would work awesome for this quilt mixed with felt I suppose. I have found that so much is about preference..

I also just wanted to thank all of you awesome quilters for the compliments and for trying out my tutorial. It has been so fun hearing about and even seeing some of your awesome quilts!!! Keep up the good work!! Happy new year!

I also found you on pinterest...very nice tutorial! I've made several rag quilts with squares but never thought about the strips...much easier. From my experience I've found that it really doesn't matter if the flannel is prewashed or not, as long as you wash and dry afterwards to fray. Also, I usually don't use a middle layer...two layers of flannel (front and back) seem to be enough for me. I'd also recommend just stitching and clipping the outside edges for saving time.

I also found you on pinterest...very nice tutorial! I've made several rag quilts with squares but never thought about the strips...much easier. From my experience I've found that it really doesn't matter if the flannel is prewashed or not, as long as you wash and dry afterwards to fray. Also, I usually don't use a middle layer...two layers of flannel (front and back) seem to be enough for me. I'd also recommend just stitching and clipping the outside edges for saving time.

I'm wondering if you trimmed the short ends of your fabric? I see that the makers put their mark on the ends, did you cut those off or did the binding cover it? I'm seeing some selvege edges in the pictures...

@Krista - as I cut out the fabric strips I made sure each strip was the same size in length. (they were different brands of fabric and so they didn't always line up exactly.) Doing this helped me make adjustments and I ended up cutting much of the selvege edges off. Some of the selvege ends did not get cut off if I remember correctly but, I made the binding wide enough to cover it. I hope this helps!

k so I have been looking for a fun quilt to make for my son but I was wondering if you thought minky would be a good material to use or not. I love it because it is soft but not sure if it would 'rag' or not..thanks..LOVE this quilt by the way..beautiful

@Jackie - I know that a few of our readers have used minky to make this blanket. I think it works fine, but just a word of warning... minky sheds a lot and has a bit of a stretch of it. Besides those two things, it is the most wonderful fabric for blankets, especially baby blankets!! Thanks for the sweet compliments!

@ Bridget - I recommend finding a quilting shop. They usually have beautiful fabric. I went to my local quilting shop called the "Cotton Shop." If you don't have a quilting shop near you, fabric.com is always a wonderful way to find awesome fabric! Good luck!

I'm just finishing my quilt up and I love it! My two little ones are already "playing" tug of war for it! Now I'll have to get started on another one! None of my flannel matches (bought it all from the remnant section and had some at home), but it is so cool! Would love for you to see it! What a satisfying project! Thank you!

Lovely Rag Quilt. I've just cut the strips. I will start sewing tomorrow morning, since I'm working this afternoon. One question, If you're only sewing the right sides together do you only sew the middle and front material to the rag side and the back is sewn to the next one fabric. Am I explaining my question clearly? I just can't figure how it will show when finished. Flora

I wanted to send you the link to my blog. I am in the middle of making your beautiful quilt. Crossing my fingers it turns out as pretty as yours. Your instructions are spot on! Thank you so much!~LeslieMichelehttp://beforetheendoftheday.blogspot.com/2012/01/flannel-baby-rag-quilt.html

Thank you for your awesome tutorial Megan . . . and TY also for your constant feedback to questions and comments! I've learned more each time I've referenced the tutorial by reading the latest messages.

I have made one quilt...it turned out great but it took over my life for about 3 months...or longer if you ask my husband! Anyhow, I'm currently working on making the quilt you've described for my little sister.

I'm using 3 layers of flannel like you've done. Did you machine bind the quilt or hand sew? I'm concerned about the thickness of the layers. My machine isn't enjoying sewing through all this flannel. (I've even considered if I should be using a different sized needle for my sewing machine?)

Did I miss something? What the OTHER side of the quilt look like? It has seams, but no visible,raggy seam allowances, right? I would have like to see it. Also, the binding instructions here are non-existent....Why? Are the corners easy, or do they require some plannin? Do you have to cut the binding on a bias? Maybe everyone else knows how to bind, and they don't need this info, but I do!

@ Amber C - you are simply wonderful!!!!! Thanks for linking up to such a great quilt binding tutorial for our readers!!! I am thrilled you found something so helpful! I agree, binding really is like the bow on a present or the icing on the cake! Thanks again!

@ anonymous - I hope that the above link have helped you as well! As for the other side of the quilt it is smooth. Good luck and happy sewing!-Megan

I vowed that I was going to try a new project once a month, so THANK YOU for the inspiration for my first project!!! I have very little experience with sewing but I did have a brand new machine, sitting in the garage. With a little help from a seamstress friend, I made this today! So easy! My biggest issue was cutting, so I will definitely be investing in a rotary cutter on payday and looking for flannel on sale. SO snuggly, I love it!P.S. I didn't bind the edges, I just stitched a half inch along the edge, then fringed the ends as well. Cute! (Will def be looking for flannel sales! ; ) 1 project down, 11 to go!

When making the rag quilts, I found the easiest way to make the fray is using a brand new seam ripper, it is nice and sharp and goes through the fabric wonderfully. Saves on your hands instead of trying to cut all those little fringes.....Thank you for the great idea of the strips, that will be one of my next projects!Lucy

I love this! I just ran out and got some flannel to make one myself, as a novice it looks like something I can tackle. My one question is, do you do a straight stitch or a zigzag so that the fraying doesn't continue beyond the stitch?

For those asking about how to bind the quilt. I have an alternative. I have made several of these rag quilts and instead of binding I simply sew a seam around the edge of the entire quilt which allows it to rag just like the rest of the quilt. It's super easy and I think is more in keeping with the style of the quilt.

Didnt read if anyone asked but how big does this make it? Size measurements would be awesome so I could get an idea because I want to make it pretty big for a twin bed!Thanks for the beautiful idea!! Also where did you get those fabrics in particular?

Just made 2 of these adorable quilts. One for my daughter and one for her roommate. They are college athletes and travel on a bus frequently. I called it a "bus blankey...they were fun and easy to make. The binding and sniping of the seams was by fair the most time consuming part of the project. I did not use a single pin or basting stitch in the entire project-LOVE THAT! The finished quilt measured 46x40 and I used a 1/2 seam allowance.

Found your post through Pinterest and made my first rag quilt this weekend. Like others, I didn't bind it and simply stitched around the top and snipped the edges to rag it like the rest of the seams. I just got my very first sewing machine for Christmas and have only taken one lesson, and I found this project to be pretty simple for a beginner like me! The hardest part was sewing through all six layers without a walking foot (I need to get one ASAP!). I'm heading back to the store for more flannel and some sharp scissors so I can make another one this week. I think I'll try making one without the middle flannel layer and see how it turns out, just to save money.Thanks for the great tutorial! Now all my friends' babies will have cozy little quilts handmade by me :)

Great little quilt! I found you through another blog and am I ever glad. I knew there was a reason I have been saving our old flannel sheets. My husband thinks I'm crazy for lugging the strips of good flannel from the old flannel sheet sets on all our moves! Now I can make some quilts for our boys from some of their favorite childhood sheets. Thanks!

I LOVE this quilt! I'm making it for a friend that's having a girl in April. I bought the last of the fabric I need for this blanket today. Going to cut tomorrow and start sewing. I'll share a pic when it's finished. Can't wait! Thank you so much for sharing this pattern!!! Melisa S.

Cindy!! Thank you for comment. I liked those also. I have enough flannel for 2 that size now. I'll get at them for Easter Gifts, several neighbors could use them. Make Lap Pad ?? for 2 little kids 2 & 5 yrs. Im excited I didnt sleep last night I need it tonight. LOV

I want to make something special (already making all of her bedding) for my first grandchild. I'm very excited to find this tutorial because this will make the perfect keepsake for her and her mom, my dauther. I love that it will be soft and comfy. I think I will have her name and date of birth monogrammed on it. Thank you so much for the idea.

Behold! My (almost) finished quilt: http://www.screencast.com/t/iLZiJdr6Hpfp I still need to clip it and wash it to make it fray. I didn't do a binding, I'm just going to clip the edges and let them fray also.

I just used this tutorial for my very first sewing project. It was so easy and only took 2 days start to finish! I'm so excited to give it to my new niece. Thank you for the idea. I will send you pics soon!

One of the first items I ever pinned on Pinterest. I'm originally from Utah and I have to say, The Cotton Shop is by far the cutest and best place to purchase fabric in that area. I probably miss it more than I should.I feel in love with the idea of stripes when a friend of mine had a baby 4 years ago and someone made her one in pinks and browns. I LOVE that you use an extra piece of flannel in place of the natural batting most people recommend. It seems such a pain to have another piece to measure and line up.

Hi, I am sorry if you have already answered this question, I didn't see it if so. But I love this idea and would like to make one for my daughter's twin bed. However, I am having a hard time finding flannel fabric that I like. Can you recomend a site? Or, I did see that you said cotton will fray, but I have seen much more in that material that I like compared to flannel. Is there a way to use the same concept with cotton instead?Thanks for your time!

Hello! I've been wanting to make a quilt, which I've never done before, and I think this is just the one for me! I do have a question since I've never made a quilt before, What is binding? I see you have listed in materials fabric for binding but in the pictures it doesn't show very well what that is. Thank you again for posting this! I LOVE it and can't wait to hear back from you to get started!! :)

That is beautiful! When I make these quilts I don't bind them. what I do is sew a half inch seem all the way around and snip it just like the rest of the quilt. It is a lot easier especially for new quilters. :)

Taking steps and desperately difficult to keep up with his immense brother.Still so on cloud nine and the finest napper still. With the purpose of smilemight style a person fall taking part in be fond of with him.baby warehouse

Hi! I love your quilt and am going to make a bigger one for me little girl :) I just had to tell you that I pinned this last night and by this morning there were 274 REPINS!!!! I've never had that happen to anything I've pinned before! Anyways, thanks so much for the tutorial! :)

Thanks for the great tutorial! I just finished my first of these quilts (picture here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wittyfamily/7221985068/in/photostream). I am now on the hook to make at least two more. :) My finished dimensions turned out to be about 41" x 49". I highly recommend using a walking foot and a ragging scissors. Super fun project!

So I bought all the fabric to make this quilt and was about to start cutting when I thought, "Wait a minute, should I pre-wash?" The directions don't say to pre-wash but I wasn't sure if anyone else had experienced any trial-and-error regarding pre-washing the flannel. Also, does the fabric for the binding also need to be flannel?

For a rag quilt, don't prewash your flannel. After all sqares (or strips in this case) are sewn together and snipped, then throw your quilt in the washer and dryer. Your snipped seams will get raggier and fluffier with each wash. You will have lots of fluff in the dryer, so take care to remove it. I don't bind my edges--just sew a 1/2 inch seam all the way around the outside and snip away.

Thanks so much for your awesome tutorial! I took me about 2 hours to cut all the strips, 2 hours to sew it all, and 1 1/2 hours to make it raggy. The only part I have left is the binding, which is quite intimidating! (I'm using make-it-and-love-it's tutorial.) Thank you for the awesome tutorial! This was a fun, somewhat quick project!

Can't wait to try this! From what I can tell she did use 7 fabrics, I think folks are missing the blue and white polka dot binding. Then there's the 8th fabric also, the plain white in the center (which can't really be seen). Looks adorable!! :)

Hi!This blanket is SO ADORABLE! I'm actually trying to make my own version and am having trouble with my sandwich pieces when I stitch them together. They want to "crawl" under the presser foot. Did you use a walking presser foot or no?thanks!

Thanks for the great tutorial. I wish I'd thought of strips when I first started making the rag quilts. I have used cotton on one side and flannel on the other on 2 or three of them and have had no problems at all. I like them to be thicker but not heavier so instead of flannel for the middle or inside piece, I recycled a mattress pad. I live 40 miles from the nearest town to buy fabric and batting, so the pad worked great! It was a fitted pad, but the fitted part ripped while putting it on, so I cut the fitted part off and used the flat rest of it and it makes wonderful batting. Warm, but very light. I always cut my batting 1/2" smaller than my squares and sew the squares together with an X. This way the batting doesn't shift and at the same time it is not in my seams so the ravel still works well. Just a suggestion. I taught my 14 year old granddaughter to make one the other day and she is very excited and ready to make more. It's a very forgiving pattern so if your seams aren't exactly even, no one will ever know after you snip it. Thanks again, I'm ready to make one with strips now instead of all those squares! I bet it will be a lot faster. Thank you again for sharing your tutorial.

I've made this using a thin cotton batting in the middle, and it worked great. I didn't bind mine. I just stitched a half an inch all the way around all 4 sides of the quilt, then snipped the the sides about 1/4" - just don't snip through your stitches. Easy & cute.

Thank you so much for this tutorial! This was the first rag quilt I've ever attempted, and I love how it came out. THANK you for the help!!! http://kablooiecrafts.blogspot.com/2012/05/striped-rag-quilt.html

I love this quilt. Mine turned out so cute I can't stand it. Thank you so much for the idea.

For the binding I took a 4" strip of the white flannel and encased it around the sides (2" on each side) and ran a seam around it. Then I clipped the part hanging over and so it curled as well when washed.

I have made this quilt a couple times and love it! I even made a small version for my daugther to carry around while we are out and about. You may have said this somewhere in the comments, but I probably missed it. Where did you get your fabric? I love it! Thanks for the great idea!

Have made rag quilts with squares but this looks so much easier and faster to make,I have a couple of relatives that are having babies now for the winter so this will be great. Thanks for much for the idea. Just love your beautiful quilt.

Just a couple questions. I'm totally inexperienced. I have made one quilt a few years ago. And I HATE binding. Could you leave the edges of this quilt ragged and cut it like the rest? Also, can you use a different material that "rags?" Like cotton?

Hello, I have bought the required material to make this adorable baby rag quilt for my beautician who is due in DEC. I'm unclear by the instruction how much of a seam to sew before clipping. Also how to do the binding. Answers appreciated.

@anonymous - the seam allowance for the "rag" part of the quilt is completely up to you. I think I did a 1/2", because I wanted it to be less raggy. There are some awesome youtube videos on how to bind a rag quilt. just search for "binding a quilt" Hope this helps! Congrats on your new baby! Take care!

Your baby quilt was so adorable..I have made the square kind and will never do that again..Drove me insane..haha..but the strip kind looks so much easier!! I am attempting to make 5 king size quilts like this for my children for Christmas...Thanks so much for the inspiration...

I love this and am going to make one for my daughter going to college next year and size it for a twin bed. I will still run the stripes the length of the quilt, seaming the long fabric strips. Any comments or suggestions? Have you tried or seen anyone try one larger than a baby size?

Stripes/strips and rag quilt come together, and it is just lovely!! I love how you can vary the size/width of the strips for a different size blanket but not have the hassle of quilting a huge top since you have already quilted the strips before attaching. Love it, and the colors too!!

I'm pretty new to sewing, but wanted to make something special for a baby shower for my Best Friend's Daughter. Thank you so much for the instructions to this precious quilt!! I made it this past weekend and it turned out great!! Your tutorial is wonderful.

I read through the comments first, and decided that I would just stitch along the outside edges and ruffle them instead of attempting binding. That's my only disappointment. Wish I would have added the binding. I think it would have looked more "finished". Next time!!

My first sewing project and I decided to make this rag quilt for my daughters full bed! I enjoyed every part (even learning to sew a straight seem)! HAHA Thanks for the directions it was amazing and now I am on to matching curtains and pillow shams!

I made this quilt and it turned out fantastic. I made it with 2 yard lengths and it turned out to be 70" wide. My college student daughter received it for her birthday. Much prettier than the bed-in-a-bag. It is so much easier than piecing the squares. Thank you for the tutorial.

I just made one of these for a niece who is due in June. She is not finding out if it's a boy or girl and she told me to just use what I wanted. This is so much easier and faster than a rag quilt made with squares (I made one of those for her sister who had a baby in December)and I told them I would not ever make another one of those!

I came across your blog and decided to make one for a friend's daughter who is expecting this summer. It turned out darling and I was called "The Sewing Jedi" at the baby shower! LOL!!! I'm getting ready to make a couple more just to have on hand for future babies! It was so much fun to make and went together quickly! I especially like the idea of using flannel for the middle! Thanks for sharing this!

I am so excited to try making one of these!! I do have a question though... have you done a tutorial for binding the edges? I learned from my Grandma years ago, but have forgotten. Love your site... pinned it :)

I really should do a tutorial on binding! So many people have asked how to do it. I always tell people to check out Youtube for awesome binding tutorials. There are so many great ones. I hope this helps! Take care and thanks for your sweet comments! So glad you love our little blog! Take Care!

Okay! I know I'm a little late with the questions? But am expecting a baby granddaughter Mar 2014. and am a little confused on the number of strips used in your quilt. I bought 7 different fabrics as suggested and cut 2 - 6 inch strips and 2 - 3 inch strips out of each 1/2 yd. I am trying to use all 14 strips but in your tutorial it looks like you actually only used 13 strips. I have tried every combination and I can't get a 3 Inch strip at top and bottom of quilt while alternating 6 inch strips and 3 inch strips throughout the quilt. What am doing wrong I love your quilt and have everything cut out and ready to piece together but am stuck on coming out with an even number of strips in the finished quilt. . .

I have been reading comments about not washing fabrics first. I have found that if you are using fabrics from different companies and not from same line of fabric each one may shrink at different rate causing the quilt to be lumpy. Also, the colors may bleed if not washed first. You can buy special scissors at quilt shops that are designed for raggy quilts.

I ordered fabric online thinking I was getting all flannel pieces. I got it and found out that I have 3 pieces of flannel and 3 pieces of very nice cotton material. Can you combine these two different fabrics for this rag strip quilt?